Care Facilities Placement

[WEDWDW]

Have any of you ever had to place a loved one in a care facility?

If so,was it a good experience or did you later have regrets?

 

[NannyBeBe]

We had to place my mother and my mother-in-law in car facilities. We had no issues with their care. The only complaint I had was that the food was atrocious. No salt, no sugar, no spices -- very bland. And of course the cost was very high. We drained all of their available funds and then drew on our own savings. It was a hard decision to make but in both cases, we were unable to physically care for them in our homes.

 

[kymom99]

My mom spent about a month in a nursing home before she died. They were nice enough but understaffed.

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

My mom is starting year 10 at her memory care facility. I know it's an unusually long time, but it is what is it. There have never been regrets with either myself or my sister. I do not like that ownership just changed about 8 months ago. That is something that happens too often, everywhere and for all levels of care facilities. I think the food where my mom lives is very good. At this point, my mom's cost are mostly paid by a state program, supplemented by SSI.


VISIT as many places as you can, ask alot of questions.

 

[tvguy]

Not sure if every state has these, but California has Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly. They are in residential areas, no more than 6 residents, private room, large public area, 24 hour staff. My mom was diagnosed with cancer and had a stroke 2 days later in the hospital. The stroke meant living on her own was no longer an option, nor was any treatment of the cancer. She spent 6 weeks in a rehab center and their discharge staff discouraged me keeping her in a large facility like theirs. The concern being exposure to illnesses. They recommended the RCFE. It was as good a fit as could be expected. And they were set up for hospice care if that became necessary. She lived there for about a year before the cancer caught up with her. Her health insurance had an RN check on her every week. Her LTC insurance paid all but $600 a month of the cost. Her Social Security, and small pension were enough to cover that, and covered all the costs of keeping up her house, just in case she did recover enough to come home.

 

[tvguy]

My mom is starting year 10 at her memory care facility. I know it's an unusually long time, but it is what is it. There have never been regrets with either myself or my sister. I do not like that ownership just changed about 8 months ago. That is something that happens too often, everywhere and for all levels of care facilities. I think the food where my mom lives is very good. At this point, my mom's cost are mostly paid by a state program, supplemented by SSI.


VISIT as many places as you can, ask alot of questions.

That is an unusually long time. My mom did a LOT of homework before buying Long Term Care insurance. As I recall she said the average Long Term Care stay is 18 months. She bought coverage that would cover 3 years. Her instructions to me were that if she needed more care than 3 years, I was to dip into her savings, then tap into the equity in her house.
I was soooooooooooooooo fortunate that my mom did everything she could to plan for everything she might need at the end of her life. But still was tough. With a cancer diagnosis her immediate wish was to to have the lung impacted removed. We did not get far enough along in the decision making process to know if that was a reasonable option for an 89 year old in otherwise good health. She had a stroke two days later, and the Doctors said THAT took all cancer treatment options off the table.

 

[mommasita]

Yes, we had no choice with my father in law. He had Lewy body dementia.
He broke his hip, and after that we realized that as family it was no longer possible to provide him with the care he needed to keep him safe 24/7.

He was in a long term care home about 5 minutes from us, in a private room, and we all took turns going for all 3 meals each day. He didn’t eat much to be honest, but we wanted to know and see and note what he ate and watch some tv with him.
We would roll him outside in good weather. He had good and bad days, but the staff was excellent with him. My Sister in law became could friends with a PAB, and he would text her throughout the day. We would bring them all kinds of goodies, for they worked so hard, and we appreciated it.

He stayed until he sadly passed, about 3 months, we do not pay for these services.

 

[CdnCarrie]

Yes my mother is currently in a nursing home with dementia. She gets good care.